WATCH: Old Jewish Lefties Sing ‘The Internationale’ In Yiddish

By Josh Nathan-Kazis May 1, 2017

In honor of International Workers’ Day, here’s an incredible video of an elderly crowd of Eastern European Bundists singing The Internationale in Yiddish, accompanied by a desultory accordionist.

The video, shared today on Twitter by the journalist Lisa Goldman, was recorded in 2006 in Tel Aviv.

Update: Forward president Sam Norich writes to note that this gathering was held at the Workmen’s Circle building on Kalisher Street in Tel Aviv. The journalist Yossi Sarid is seated at the head table, alongside Forverts correspondent Isaac Luden.

Josh Nathan-Kazis is a staff writer for the Forward. He covers charities and politics, and writes investigations and longform.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism so that we can be prepared for whatever news 2025 brings.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO